Up Through the Ashes
by Dormant-Sylph
Summary: Sealand is out surveying his country one day when he catches sight of a fire consuming the deck. While off to find the source, he finds himself trapped below the platform and surrounded by walls of flame. Will he be able to call for help in time to escape, or will he be burnt to a crisp? NEW AND REVISED, CHAPTERS 3 AND 5 HAVE BEEN EDITED.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, this is the new-and-improved Up From the Ashes fanfiction. I decided to re-write and fill in a couple plot holes I thought needed to be filled. As usual, Hetalia belongs to the creator, Hidekaz Himaruya. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 1

"Wow!" Shouted the young boy, Sealand, as he stared out across the vast ocean from his country's platform. "Today seems positively perfect!" he sat down and swung his legs out over the side of the platform, laughing childishly as he watched seagulls quarrel over left-over breadcrumbs. Just then, a strong wind came rushing through, scattering the gulls across the platform. "Hahaha!" He giggled as he watched the birds' silly antics. "Ah-haha...Hey!" He shouted as the wind picked up his hat

and carried it away. "Hey, come back," he chased after it, and when it was just within reach, the wind would come up again and blow his hat away.

"Gotcha!" Sealand grabbed his hat up from the ground and dusted it off before placing it back on his head. He lifted his face skyward, the cool ocean breeze swept his golden hair across his face. He inhaled deeply, there was an alarming scent in the air that afternoon, it was the smell of smoke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Continuing with the revising, Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

Chapter 2

_Smoke_, he thought_, that can't be, where there's smoke there's fire, surely there isn't a fire anywhere nearby_. At this sudden notion, he got up and quickly yet thoroughly, began searching for the source of the smoke_. Hmm, it's gotten warm near here, I must be getting close,_ he opened a door leading to the generator. _There's no doubt about it_, he thought_, it has to be down this way_. Then, just a he was about to enter the generator room, he heard a loud CRACK overhead. Sealand glanced upwards, then quickly shielded his face before a giant burning timber fell right in front of him. Startled, he jumped back only to touch the burning hot door. "Ouch!" he took a small step back, for if he took any more, he would get badly burned.

"Well, it looks like I'm truly trapped," he moaned and curled up into a corner, surrounded by walls of flame. Another snapping noise was heard, and he buried his face in his arms as sparks showered down on him. He emitted a low, muffled cry, completely frozen with fear.

Not long afterwards-about ten minutes or so-he remembered something that could quite possibly help him. _That's right, the radios_, he thought_, I can use one of the radios to try to transmit a message over to Britain_. Sealand knew where all the radios were located on his country, and he knew there was one just outside the generator room. He got up, and cautiously crossed the small area he had to move around in.

"Here it is," he exclaimed as he dismounted the radio from the wall. He placed it on the floor and began slowly turning the dials, listening intently for Britain's radio frequency. "Hello?" he spoke timidly through the microphone, "Hello? Britain, are you there? If you can hear me, please, answer back." He cried as tears streamed down his face.

No response came.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hetalia and all associated characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. **

Chapter 3

"Britain... England, please, why won't you answer?" He paused, "Please Britain, I need your help, I can't do this on my own." The fires around him cracked as they fed off their surroundings. Frightened, he slowly backed into the far corner farthest from the fire, with the small radio right by his side.

"Hello?" A voice came in through the radio.

"England! Is that you?" He shouted excitedly into the microphone. "Please, I need your help Britain. My country has caught fire and I'm trapped near the generator room. Please help me as soon as possible, I'm terribly frightened."

"No," Britain replied coldly. "why on earth should I help you, you little brat." His tone was harsh and cruel.

Sealand was shocked by this remark. "Please Britain! If I don't get help soon, I'll die along with my country, you have to help me."

"It doesn't matter to me whether you die or not," Britain's voice came through again, "in all honesty, I should have torn down your country a long time ago along with the others," he remarked dryly.

"What?" the young boy was confused, "Why not?" He shouted into the microphone, while his ocean blue eyes welled up with tears.

"Just because," the gentleman responded, "You've been trying too hard to become an actual country, it's about time you realized that being a nation isn't the easiest." He paused, "I'm not helping you out Sealand, you'll have to figure a way out by yourself." He turned his radio off abruptly.

"But... now what am I going to do?" Sealand buried his face again and cried once more. It was then that he heard the stirring of another being. He glanced up, his eyes were red and puffy from crying, "Huh?" he sniffed, "who's there?" he called out over the crackling flames. There, across the room from him stood a young boy that looked exactly like him. "Peter? Is that you?" he rose up on shaky legs. "Is that you Peter?" he repeated.

"Yes," The boy responded, his voice was hollow, and his skin was pale, oh so very pale. He stood there amidst the flames, seemingly ethereal. "It's me, I'm here." His eyes were dull and lifeless.

"How did you get out of our body?" the other began walking towards the ghost-like figure, "Wait," he stopped mid-stride, tears growing anew in his eyes. "Did you…die?"

The frail transparent figure simply nodded.

"Thanks a lot!" he shouted sarcastically, then fell to the ground, the tears wouldn't stop. "How could this happen? How did you die?"

"Simple, the heat and smoke killed me, and if someone doesn't hurry up and rescue you, you'll be dead too." His voice echoed distantly. "I need to go, my time here is up." And with that, he stepped into the blazing fire and was gone in a wisp of smoke.

"Wait!" Sealand called, but it was too late, "what about my soul!" he cried. Realizing that no one would reply, he slumped to the ground and cried freely, already feeling his soul being ripped maliciously in half.

[]

"Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him," Britain mumbled as he shut off the radio. "After all, he's just a child. Oh great," he placed his hand on his forehead, "Now I'm starting to feel guilty." He looked out the window to the ocean, trying to see Sealand's country. He saw it clearly, and also saw the thick black smoke billowing out. He choked on his words, suddenly concerned for the young boy.

His feet pounded the floor as he raced down the hallway, he reeled left and burst out the back door. The sky was filled with smoke, making the air almost unbearable. _No_, Britain thought, the distant fire reflected in his emerald green eyes.

He dashed to the shoreline and looked about frantically for a boat of some sort. There was a small motorized boat large enough for one person a small distance away. Britain stumbled along the shoreline, kicking up sand with each step. He shoved the boat into the water, the small waves lapped around his feet. When at last it began to float, he jumped in and started up the motor. The little vessel skidded across the water. Britain looked up, the old war tower was engulfed in flames, the surrounding sky was almost completely black. _That poor child, he's probably frightened half to death,_ he thought, his face was lined with worry.

Upon reaching the tower, Britain jumped out and scrambled up the ladder to the platform. The blaze had reached unbearable temperatures, and the wind blew smoke and debris in all directions. Britain shielded his face from the scattering ashes.

"Sealand!" He called, hoping the boy wasn't too far from where he stood. "Sealand where are you?"


	4. Chapter 4

**All characters related or pertaining to Hetalia are the property of Hidekaz Himaruya.**

Chapter 4

"Sealand where are you?"

The child heard his name being called overhead_. Is that...Britain?_ He became excited and jumped to his feet.

"Britain!" he hollered at the top of lungs, despite the suffocating smoke. "Britain, can you hear me? I'm down here!"

[]

"Sealand!" Britain called once more, then paused to listen for a reply. He heard a muffled human voice below him, straining his ears, he listened intently in hopes to hear it again.

"Britain, I'm down here!" he heard, though it was barely audible.

_That must be Sealand, it sounds as if he's below the deck, so how do I reach him. _Britain did a quick surveillance of the area to find a set of stairs that lead below the platform, following his intuition, he took them to the lower levels. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he immediately noticed several hallways branching off, but only one was completely filled with smoke, so he decided to follow that one.

[]

"Ah, I can't tell where I'm going," he coughed as he stumbled down the hallway. "My only lead in to finding that boy is to follow the ever thickening smoke," he squinted his eyes shut to protect them from the sting of smoke, and focused on placing one foot in front of the other. "I just hope I'm not too late." He muttered as he rounded the corner to find a towering wall of flame and burning timbers blocking his path.

"Haha!" Britain's face lit up with delight. "Sealand, can you hear me?" he called through the smoke and fire.

"Britain?" The young boy asked, "Yes, I can hear you clearly," he replied weakly before breaking out in a fit of violent coughs.

"Don't you worry Sealand," the older one called back, "I'm going to get you out of there." he took a couple of paces back.

"No, don't worry about me, I'll be fine." the child's voice quivered.

"There's no use in arguing," snapped the gentlemen, "You're still young, and I'm not going to allow you to suffocate down here." he added before dashing towards the fire.

As Britain neared the edge of the fiery wall, he bounded upwards into the air and through the blaze. He landed at the other side somewhat unharmed, but had singed his skin badly. He gingerly placed his hand on the side of his face and glanced down at his feet where Sealand lay motionless. He then knelt down to examine the boy, the pulse was weak, so the man placed a small mirror under the child's nose. To his delight, it fogged up as the boy exhaled, signalling that he was alive, though just barely.

"Don't worry Sealand," the man murmured softly as he gently picked up the young nation and jumped back through the fire. After landing on his feet, Britain raced down the hallway once more to escape the thick, black haze.

Going down the hallway was no issue, but climbing up the stairs was another thing. Britain was worn out already, and Sealand was quite the burden to carry. "God, since when has he been this heavy," the man muttered as he reached the platform and inhaled the fresh, clean air. Quickly, he paced over to the ladder, then remembered, well, the ladder_. Oh great, how am I supposed to get the both of us down there without injuring either one of us._ He looked down at the crashing waves of the sea, I guess I have no other choice, he inhaled deeply, held tightly onto the child, and let himself drop down into the ocean.

The water was extremely frigid for the month of June, and numbed your skin to the touch. Britain clenched his teeth as he surfaced, and immediately began to swim towards the boat he had left tethered to the ladder. Clutching Sealand in one arm and swimming with the other was by no means an easy task, especially when Sealand kept sinking down under the waves.

When at last they reached the ladder, Britain let out a sigh of relief as he dragged the two of them on board. He quickly started up the motor and let the boat fly across the sea back to the shore. Waves splashed about the side of the vessel and landed on the unconscious child, sympathetically, the man placed his jacket over top of the boy.

As soon as the boat hit the shore, Britain grabbed Sealand and ran into his house. He dashed down a hallway, turned left down another, then another, and another one too before reaching the infirmary. He called out to a nurse and handed her the child.

"Please, do your best to get him well, I'm counting on you." he was breathing heavily, "and please, get me when he wakes up." He added before turning on his heels and marching out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hetalia is the legally liscensed product of Hidekaz Himaruya.**

Chapter 5

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

"Master Britain?" the blond-haired nurse poked her head into the room.

"Yes?" the gentleman looked up from his book-a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin- with a hopeful expression on his face.

The woman nodded her head, then the man got up abruptly and followed her to the infirmary.

[]

Britain paused in front of the door and looked over at the nurse.

"Oh, you would like to see him alone? As you so wish." She nodded courteously and left him be. Britain watched her disappear around the corner before turning his attention back to the door. He inhaled deeply and opened it.

"Hello lad," the man said as he closed the door behind him, "How are you doing?" he took a couple paces towards the bed Sealand was in.

"Mornin' Britain, I'm absolutely famished!" Sealand was sitting up in bed by now," that nice nurse lady said that she wouldn't give me anything to eat until I saw you though. Hey, umm Britain, what am I doing here anyways?" He asked quizzingly.

"Uh, never mind what you're doing here for the moment," the man shuffled his feet, he seemed VERY worried,"How do you feel at the moment?" he glanced upwards to meet the child's gaze.

"Well, my lungs feel as though they're burning up for one thing, and my head is throbing, also..." the boy trailed off as he noticed the older country's golden hair was singed, and that his face was covered in burns. "What happened to you?" he asked, wide eyed.

"Huh? Oh," Britain loosely held on to a longer lock of his burnt hair and looked down at his feet, "umm, do you remember when I saved you a couple days ago?" He then looked up at the boy, but Sealand only cocked his head with a puzzled expression on his face. "When your country caught fire," the man continued.

"What!? When did my country catch fire?" the child jolted upright and Britain dashed over to restrain him.

"Don't you remember?" the man had now let go of the boy and sat down on a chair next to the bed. "You contacted me through one of your country's radios, you sounded as though you were in grave danger."

"I'm sorry Britain..." Sealand said quietly after taking this information in, then slowly shook his head,"...I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember any of that. Are you sure of it? You're not drunk, are you?"

"I see..." Britain calmly got up and straightened his jacket before heading for the door. He paused before closing it, "no, I'm not drunk," he said, then slowly closed the door behind him.

[]

"How did it go?" the nurse asked him once he closed the door.

Britain was surprised to see her waiting like a faithful dog does for its master. "Umm, well, not too well." He sat down on a nearby bench and motioned for her to take a seat next to him. She gratefully accepted and smiled as she sat down.

"You seem depressed," she said sympathetically, "What's the matter?"

"Hmm, well, it's kind of hard to explain," he exhaled deeply, "he can't seem to remember what happened a couple of days back, he thinks I'm legless."

"Yes, I forgot to mention it," the nurse laughed apologetically, "he seems to have a touch of amnesia, but only his memory of that day seems to have been affected."

"I see," he finally said, rather uninterested.

"If that's the only thing he can't remember, then why are you so concerned?" the woman asked.

"I'm not concerned," he lied, then saw that the woman wouldn't accept that as an answer. "Well, Sealand only sees me as cruel and heartless, so I was hoping that he would remember me saving him and realize that I'm not completely heartless."

"I understand," she smiled, "you really do care for Sealand, don't you."

"Well, yes, I do. I mean, he is my brother after all, whether I like it or not, that's the facts and I can't change it." He turned to look into her sky-blue eyes, "thank you," he added before heading down the hall.

[]

"Now let's see here," Britain leafed through the appendix of a large medical book, "A,...ac...al...am... oh, here it is, amnesia, page 384," he flipped to the corresponding page number. "Symptoms, causes, effects, ah, cures. Many theories say that if amnesia is caused by a hit to the head, a similar impact may fix the problem, but rest is usually best. However, the best and most effective method recorded for curing amnesia is through hypnotism..." he paused and closed the book, "Hypnotism, I can do that." He then got up and headed to the infirmary.

Britain managed to uneventfully make it there, but upon arriving at the room and reaching for the doorknob, he paused. I've already seen him today, he thought, there's no use in visiting him now, I'll let him rest. The gentleman then turned on his heels and headed out towards the gardens.

When Britain was younger, and when he wasn't being pestered by France, he would spend hours tending to the gardens. That was back when he was still a rather small nation though, today, he didn't get many opportunities. And when chances such as this would arise, he would jump for the bait. The man was unaware of how long he worked for, but when the nurse from earlier came up to him, it was getting pretty dark.

"So you've been out here all this time?" she went and knelt down alongside him.

"Yeah. You know, I've always loved to tend to plants, I find it relaxing. Ah..." Britain couldn't quite remember her name, but it was on the tip of his tongue, "What are you doing out here?" he tried to avoid having to use her name.

"Hmm...? Oh, well Sealand fell asleep, so I thought it would be best to leave him alone and let him rest.

"How's his recovery coming along?" the man inquired.

"Eh, not too well. The smoke from the fire didn't help his asthma any, also, his back got burned pretty badly, that's definitly going to leave him with a scar." She said compassionately.

"I see. Thank you Olivia." he finally remembered her name. He then took her by the hand and escorted her back into the house.

[]

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

"Alright then," Britain sighed, "now it's time." He opened the infirmary door and stepped inside, making sure to close the door behind him. When Sealand saw him, he sat up and observed him. Britain took out a candlestick first, then turned off the lights in the room. He then lit the candle, (how he did, no one knows), and advanced towards Sealand's bed. When he reached there, he sat down in the stool and set the candle in a holder on the bedside table.

"Okay now Sealand, I want you to stare into the flame of this candle as I speak to you. Got it?" He watched as the child nodded in understanding. "Good, well then...kusikiliza sasa kama mimi kutafuta akili yako, moyo, na roho. Kusikiliza sasa kama..." Britain continued chanting this as he took out a piece of red chalk and drew an intricate pentagram with the twelve astrological signs surrounding it on Sealand's forehead, chest and the back of his left hand. "kufungua akili yako na mimi, basi mimi retuto kile chopoteu, kumbukumbu yak itakuwa kupatikana." As he said this line, the cicles he had drawn on Sealand began to glow brightly.

Britain continued to chant thise two lines, gaining in speed and volume forming a grand crescendo. When he reached as loud as he could without yelling, he began to chant quieter and slower, until it could barely be heard, just tickling a butterfly's ear. As the man chanted slower, the circles' glow began to diminish until they stopped glowing altogether, once this happened, the candle suddenly flickered out and the lights came back on.

"W-what happened Britain?" Sealand blinked several times to ajust his eyes to the light.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." The older nation handed the younger one a cloth to wipe off the chalk. "Do you feel any different? Can you remember anything?"

"No, no I can't. Why? Should I be able to?" There was a touch of sceptisism in the boy's voice.

"Oh, never mind then," the man packed up his stuff and left Sealand to his own devices.

[]

"I can't believe it didn't work!" Britain wasn't too impressed with the outcome of that morning. "I guess it's back to square one," he sighed, "Oh well, I guess I'll do that tomorrow, I might as well get the most out of the rest of the day." He went outside to check on his garden. Sealand was out kicking around a soccer ball, and Olivia was nearby keeping a watchful eye on him. When Sealand saw Britain he picked up the soccer ball and went over to him.

"Good afternoon Britain!" he was his usual cheery self.

"'Afternoon Sealand, and to you too." he aknowledged the nurse. "Well Sealand, I never knew you liked football."

"Of course I do! Who in their right mind doesn't like football?"the boy placed his hands on his hips with the soccer ball tucked in one arm.

"Hey, Sealand, come with me for a second, I want to show you something." the man motioned for the child to follow him. Sealand obediently followed without questions.

"Hey Britain? What is it you want to show me?" the child looked up to the gentleman.

"This'" the older nation said once they arrived at the beginning of his garden.

"Wow! This is so beautiful! When did you ever get the time to work on it or tend to it?" the boy's eyes were wide in amazement.

"My whole life," Britain replied smiling, "You know, every country I've ever been in touch with have helped me with this, they all had heir own patch in this garden. Most of them have long since left, so I'm left to tend for that. But that's aside from the point, would you like to have your own part in this?"

"Absolutely! Oh, Britain, I forgot to tell you something." the boy looked up.

"Yes, what is it?" the man questioned.

"Well, I remember now, I remember everything that happened Friday, and thank you. Thanks for saving me." he looked down at his feet sheepishly.

"Y-you can remember now?" the older country was astonished.

"Yes I do, and I really appreciate what you did. Thanks again." the child looked back up from the ground, his eyes were welling up with tears.

"What's wrong Sealand, why are you upset?" the older island nation knelt down and placed a gentle hand on the youth's shoulder.

"Oh Britain, I just remembered. Peter, he's…" the child swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"What? What happened?"

"He's dead!" Sealand burst out as the tears kept flowing.

"What!?"


	6. Chapter 6

**This is the last, and extra chapter of "Up From the Ashes: The Revised Edition", I do not own any of the characters.**

Chapter 6

"I still can't believe it!" Britain sat in the drawing-room alone, still trying to accept that Peter was gone. It was at that time that the nurse, Olivia, came in.

"Good evening master Britain," she gave him a slight smile, but her eyes told another story. "What seems to be troubling you?" She went and sat down next to him.

"You know very well what it is, Peter's dead, why else am I upset." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," the smile disappeared from her face and left a forlorn expression upon it.

"Then why are you bothering me?" he turned to face her.

"I'm not quite sure, but I do wish to tell you that I feel the pain of Peter's death just as well as you do, maybe even more." A single tear rolled down her cheek

"How?" he snapped, "How would you even know anything about Peter? You never knew him. And may I add that Peter was the only thing that made Sealand and I related."

"I knew him very well. I know much more about Peter and Arthur than even you do. You say Sealand and you are brothers, but only through them? If you really think about it wouldn't he be you're son? You created his country back in the war, doesn't it make more sense?" She had stopped crying and now her hazel eyes seemed glazed over.

"Well…I suppose," Britain started, "but that's nonsense! What an absurd idea," he chuckled slightly.

"Well it's true…" she muttered under her breath.

"What!?"

"It's true, if you don't believe me, then go ask Arthur, maybe you'll listen to him." She stood up and left the room silently.

"What?!" he asked himself.

[]

"Arthur!" Britain fumed across the room, "Arthur!" he repeated once more, all the while knowing there would be no answer, he then found himself in a completely different room. He hadn't walked here, nor did he plan to get there, but just seemed to have been transported against his will. He heard the crumpling of papers and turned around behind him to find Arthur working at a desk. "Umm, hello there," he started.

The other man looked up, "Oh England, so nice of you to drop by." he wore only black, as if in mourning. "Would you like me to put some tea on for you?"

"Why not," Britain shrugged, "I suppose we can discuss this over tea."

[]

"Tea's ready!" Arthur shouted from the next room over. He brought it out on a silver tray and placed it on the coffee table. There were fine china cups and saucers, scones, a tin of biscuits and of course, tea. "So you said you wanted to ask me something, right?" He poured Britain a cup of tea and handed it to him. "It must be important if you decided to actually pay me a visit. What is it?"

"It's about that nurse that works at my manor, she says she knows something about you and Peter, that you're relationship was more than just brothers. She said that you were his father, but that's absurd, if that was the case I would have known, right?" he chuckled slightly to brighten the atmosphere.

Arthur stared vacantly at him, "a nurse you say, what might her name be?"

"Olivia Martin"

"Ah yes, darling Olivia," there was a faraway look in his eyes, as if in remembrance, and a slight smile grew on his lips.

"What?!" Britain jumped up, "What the bloody hell? You know her?"

"Hm? But of course, she was the love of my life." Arthur exhaled deeply.

"Yes, but is what she said true or not. Was Peter actually your son?" he asked, draining the tea from his cup.

"But of course, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out."

"What?!" Britain choked on a scone, "how did that happen?! And right under my nose too!"

"Quite simple really. It all happened a while ago, back in the seventies. At any chance I got I would take over and hit the streets, get drunk, hang it up with women, stuff like that." Arthur shrugged, "Can't quite remember why though, probably because I got quite bored here alone. You never stopped by to visit like you used to when we were younger, so I had nothing better to do. Then one night, at a certain bar, I think it was the Horse and Groom. I met _her_, Olivia. There was a drinking competition, wow, she could really hold in her drinks, she got incredibly drunk afterwards. So I took her to an alleyway, and sort of, fucked her."

"You what?! With a human woman?"

"I have a love life too." he snapped. "Anyway, we met each other again a few weeks afterwards, decided we should actually try to get to know each other. Eventually we had sex again, and she got pregnant. Peter was born, then when Sealand came around, their two souls were fused together."

"So Peter really is your son then." he started.

Arthur nodded.

"Well, then, if you really think about it, I suppose... oh my god." Britain slumped down onto the chair. "Sealand would be my son then." He planted his face into his palm. "How could I have been so stupid, the truth was there in black and white. I've been such a jerk to him, my own son." The guilt of the past began to quickly build up in him until he could stand it no longer. "What can I do about this?"

"Simple," Arthur replied, "tell him the truth, apologize, then try to continue on with life, together."

"But, how can I? After all I've said and done to him in the past."

"Just do it, go to him ,he's your son. Go and make things right."

"Alright I will," Britain got up to leave.

"Oh, England"

The nation turned.

"Tell Sealand I say hi, it's been a while since I've seen him."

"Of course, now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." Britain left without another word, left to correct the errors of his past.

**Okay, that's the end of the revised edition of "Up From the Ashes". Anyone who's read both versions, please tell me which one you liked better.**


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